Rise of the Ronin review: a dated open world


Rise of the Ronin is banking on its incredible gameplay to appeal to PS5 owners. But this argument alone is not enough to accept its graphics unworthy of the console and its terribly dated structure.

Hara-kiri (or seppuku): suicide ritual used by samurai, consisting of disemboweling oneself, often with the aim of obtaining an honorable death or to punish oneself for a failure to fulfill one’s duties.

What do we really expect from a console-exclusive game? Unbelievable graphics, a more accomplished creative proposition, a marked visual identity, fine-tuned gameplay, some technological specificities if the console in question allows it (example: the functionalities of the DualSense, etc.). In short, we have the right to be more demanding with exclusivity. And, unfortunately for Rise of the Roninavailable from March 22, 2024 on PS5, the boxes are not checked.

Rise of the Ronin is a video game developed by Team Ninja, a renowned studio that has had a passion for years for the genre popularized by the Dark Souls trilogy. This is how we had Nioh 1 & 2 on PS4, two rather honest heirs (despite a questionable balance), then Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, already much more perfectible. With Rise of the Ronin, Team Ninja is tackling the ambitions of an open world. We should rather say that he breaks his sword there, or even goes hara-kiri.

Rise of the Ronin // Source: Koei Tecmo

Rise of the Ronin is Assassin’s Creed 2 in Japan

Cooperation

You can play Rise of the Ronin missions… provided you have completed them first. At least that’s the limit that we found with my test friend, Carole Quintaine.

Some would say that Rise of the Ronin realizes an old fantasy: offering an Assassin’s Creed in Japan (which will be Codename Red, the future major opus in the Ubisoft saga). After all, there is this clever mix between action and infiltration, while you have to assassinate targets. The problem? The environments, quite empty and not very welcoming if we forget the intoxicating atmosphere of the Asian country, are reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed II. Which is starting to seriously date (2009). In its open structure, Rise of the Ronin only piles up boring and hardly interesting side objectives. They consist of liberating areas by eliminating enemies and/or resolving conflicts. All without forgetting the points of interest which reveal what is around. It feels like we’re back on PlayStation 3, with an approach that’s too academic and timid for a studio that, admittedly, has everything to learn.

Rise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 CaptureRise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 Capture
When you want to play Rise of the Ronin cooperatively // Source: PS5 Capture

Worse, we end up realizing that the open world is just an illusion. The main missions, centered around the opening of Japan to other nations after the end of the shogunate (in the mid-1800s), are compartmentalized. Repetitive, they take the form of simple arenas within which there is a boss (or several). In between, the narration takes precedence over the rest with dialogues with political resonance which work rather well. On the atmosphere and the issues (protectionism or free trade?), Rise of the Ronin is successful. But it’s a shame to play a mute pawn whose real motivation is very secondary – and while certain decisions have a real impact on the unfolding of the story (you can be pro or anti-shogunate).

It feels like we’re back on PlayStation 3, with an overly academic and timid approach

It also feels like we’re back on PlayStation 3 due to the poor visual quality offered by Rise of the Ronin. Whether in performance mode (preferred) or quality (we forget the ray tracing option), the Team Ninja title is really painful to see. For a PlayStation 5 game, we are reaching the limits of reasonableness. As we tend to be harsh with certain Nintendo Switch exclusives on the graphic level, Rise of the Ronin deserves no indulgence. Of course, the choice of open environments does not help Team Ninja, which makes no effort in the modeling, both in precision (the cats, which can be saved, are hideous) and variety (the enemies are clones). In comparison, Ghost of Tsushimaalthough initially released on PS4, is much more breathtaking.

Rise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 CaptureRise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 Capture
This cat is clearly malnourished // Source: Capture PS5

Rise of the Ronin gameplay saves the furniture a little

If we can blame many things on Rise of the Ronin, on the other hand, we cannot praise its gameplay enough. Team Ninja has mastered this subject since the dawn of time: combat with sharp or blunt weapons relies on remarkable sensations, with realistic violence. Hemoglobin spurts when the head of an enemy samurai is cut off, at the end of a confrontation where every save counts. The visceral gameplay uses the principle of endurance (ki here) and requires learning to master the timing of counterattacks to get through it. The fights are therefore both impressive, because they are well choreographed, and pleasant, because they are demanding without falling into discouraging difficulty.

Rise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 CaptureRise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 Capture
Blood everywhere // Source: Capture PS5

As a bonus, there is a good margin of technicality thanks to the principle of postures. They allow, under the guise of having sufficiently progressed with the same weapon, to adapt one’s style of strikes to that of the enemies. This asterisk requires skill, but deepens a little more in an enjoyable and varied handling. Note, however, that it is more suited to one-on-one situations. As soon as several enemies face us, everything becomes complicated and Team Ninja’s know-how is drowned in a more confusing and less digestible spectacle. Spoiler: duels are unfortunately quite rare.

Rise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 CaptureRise of the Ronin // Source: PS5 Capture
The fights remain enjoyable. // Source: PS5 Capture

In terms of challenge, the developers have put a little water in their wine. In addition to the possibility of choosing a difficulty level and being able to modify it during the game (with a recalcitrant boss for example), Rise of the Ronin allows you to play missions with several people. Does your hero or heroine die in battle? Don’t panic, you can play as one of your sidekicks – which offers a safety valve. It is simply a shame to see that artificial intelligence, whether enemy or ally, is as laughable as can be. Another limit which supports a rather edifying observation: Rise of the Ronin had eyes bigger than his stomach.

The verdict

By wanting to make its formula born with Nioh and inspired by Dark Souls flourish in an open world, Team Ninja is going hara-kiri. Its Rise of the Ronin has nothing of the stature of a PS5 exclusive worthy of the name. It reminds us of an Assassin’s Creed 2 among the samurai, but what seems like a compliment is no longer really one today. The fault is graphics unworthy of the console and a dated structure which doesn’t make you want it at all.

This leaves Rise of the Ronin with its fairly exemplary gameplay, with technical and enjoyable combat, except when you face an army (which often happens). We finally observe a regression at Team Ninja: Nioh was better than Nioh 2, which was better than Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, which is therefore better than Rise of the Ronin. Let’s say that the gameplay, however successful it may be, cannot always save everything. The studio finds itself at a crossroads, like Japan at the end of the shogunate.

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